


Scarlet Elegance

by JHarper



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Gen, Some Inspiration From Unknown Armies, Urban Fantasy, supernatural adventure
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-14
Updated: 2020-04-14
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:55:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23654950
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JHarper/pseuds/JHarper
Summary: Kagami Tsurugi accepts the tutelage of a mysterious woman. Over the course of her apprenticeship she learns that there is far more to the world than her mother's expectations and the Miraculous conflict wracking Paris, and transforms into a woman dangerously elegant...
Kudos: 7





	Scarlet Elegance

Scarlet Elegance

by 

Jeremy Harper

Disclaimer – Miraculous Ladybug and Kagami Tsurugi are the creations of Thomas Astruc and are used without permission.

Chapter 1

Kagami looked at the residence, lips pursed in trepidation. It was a beautiful townhouse, located at the end of a secluded street in the 16th Arrondissement, not as large as the Agreste manor, or her family's own palatial estate, but the location alone indicated that the house's owner was a person of wealth. Kagami just wished she knew who this person was. When her mother summoned her this morning to inform her that she was to meet with someone who wished to observe her fencing skills, Tomoe Tsurugi had not disclosed the person's identity. Her mother had seemed unhappy with the situation, perhaps even nervous – a state of emotion Kagami had never seen her stoic and unflappable parent in before. That alone put her on edge, and Tomoe's refusal to answer any questions about this meeting did not help. All she said was that to remember she was a Tsurugi and do nothing to disgrace the family name before this stranger. 

Kagami took a deep breath through her nose and hitched her athletic bag up onto her shoulder. She glanced back at the family car, the chauffeur stoically watching her, and then climbed the stairs to the front door and rang the doorbell

A half a minute passed before the door opened, revealing a man dressed flawlessly in a suit of white drill. He was tall and broad shouldered, standing with an easy, athletic grace. His complexion was the dark brown of a native of the Indian sub-continent. A white turban covered his head and he had a thick black beard, threaded slightly with gray. Kagami noticed that he wore an unadorned metal bracelet on his right wrist, and his muscular right hand rested on the pommel of a small knife, sheathed in a golden scabbard hooked to his belt. 

The man looked down at her. His eyes were gray and hawk-like, his countenance serious. 

“Miss Kagami Tsurugi?” he inquired. She found herself unable to speak, intimidated by this unexpectedly formidable man, so she simply nodded. The man smiled, his expression transforming from stern to warm and welcoming, and in response Kagami felt her nervousness dissipate slightly. He placed his right hand over his heart and bowed. “Your presence brings much honor to this house, Miss Tsurugi. Enter, and be welcomed.” 

Kagami bowed politely in return. “Thank you,” she murmured. The man stepped aside to allow her in and closed the door behind her.

“Please follow me,” he said. He led her through an elegantly furnished foyer to a back hall, past a doorway from which emanated a delicious smell and soft singing in a language she did not recognize, and finally to a closed oaken door. He opened it and stepped aside, bowing and gesturing for her to enter. The room was a small fencing studio, one wall paneled with mirrors, the others and the ceiling painted a soft white. The floor was polished wood, a regulation length piste bisecting it. 

“There is a changing room,” the man said, pointing at a door left of the mirrors. “Please prepare yourself; the memsahib will be with you shortly. If you require anything before she arrives, an intercom is here.” He gestured to the side of the door they entered through. “I will come immediately. Is there anything you need now, Miss Tsurugi?”

“No... I mean yes. What is your name, please?” 

“Lal Singh.” 

She bowed to him. “Thank you for your hospitality, Mr. Lal Singh.” 

He smiled warmly again, his teeth a white flash in his dark face. “You are most welcome, Miss Tsurugi.” He bowed himself out of the studio, shutting the door in his wake. She watched him go, looked around the studio, then took a deep breath before going to the changing room to suit up. 

The studio was still empty when she came back, dressed in her red fencing suit, save for the mask. Frowning, she set it and her foil aside and started her warm-ups, thoroughly stretching and jogging the length of the studio back and forth several times. Once done she took up her foil and began to drill in front of the mirror – footwork, thrusts, patterns, readying herself for whatever lay ahead. 

She just finished her fifth set when a voice spoke up behind her. “Kagami Tsurugi.” Startled, she turned toward it. A woman stood before the door. She was tall, one-hundred and seventy-five centimeters or more, to Kagami's best estimate, lean and lithe, an obvious athlete. She was dressed in a smoke-gray fencer's outfit, mask beneath her arm and a foil in hand. Her features were Asian, her complexion china-pale and flawless and her eyes a striking, fiery gold. Her black-silk hair tied up in a reversed French braid and the smile she favored Kagami with was sardonically amused. 

“It is a pleasure to finally meet you,” said the woman as she approached, walking with feline grace. Her voice was a smoky, smooth contralto. “You've made quite the reputation in your short fencing career. A wall covered with medals and trophies, the victor in competitions all over the world. Your mother is quite proud of your accomplishments.” 

“Thank you,” said Kagami, feeling off-balanced. The woman's gaze pierced right through her, and Kagami felt as if she was being judged and measured to the finest degree. “I'm sorry to say I don't know who you are.”

The woman's smile widened and she bowed in acknowledgment. “You can call me Mei.” 

Kagami arched an eyebrow quizzically. “Just Mei?”

Mei negligently shrugged a shoulder. “It's all I go by, nowadays.” She had stepped to one of the piste's en garde lines and gestured at the opposite line with her foil. “But we can discuss my magnificent self later. For now, I wish to fence with you. Reports and videos and your mother's informed praise only go so far. I want to see for myself just how good you are.”

Kagami stared at this enigmatic woman for a few moments before nodding and stepping to the line, pulling on her mask. Mei donned her own helmet and the two fencers saluted each other before settling into guard. Kagami swallowed, feeling her nerves hum and thrill in response to a portentous, dynamic tension settling into the studio. 

“Ready?” Mei asked. Kagami nodded. 

“En garde,” Mei called. She did not move, simply standing motionless. Kagami hesitated a moment, assessing her opponent before launching her attack. The clash of steel echoed in the studio, followed by an electric buzz; Mei's foil point touched Kagami square in the chest. 

Kagami jumped back as if scalded, sucking a breath through her teeth. Their foils had only met twice before Mei pierced her defense as if it had been but water.

“Good,” said Mei. “Again.” Kagami tread back to her line in wary disbelief. 

The next five minutes were the most humiliating Kagami ever had to endure. Mei's defense was impervious; it was like fencing against a stone wall. Kagami could barely force her back one step, her cleverest gambits and stratagems crumbling against the older woman's flawless guard. On the other hand Mei seemed to score on her at will. She would parry Kagami's increasingly desperate blade twice, thrice, four times, once five, and then with flick of her wrist and a deceptively easy lunge strike home. 

“Enough,” Mei called, stepping back from her line and letting her foil drop to her side. Kagami fell to her knees, shocked, feeling completely humiliated, propping herself up on one hand, head bowed. She uttered a hoarse gasp as tears brimmed in her eyes. I dare call myself a fencer, she thought despairingly. I was completely helpless against this woman. God, if mother had been here to witness this... 

“Good,” said Mei. “Very, very good. Your talent matches your reputation, Kagami.” 

She jerked her head up. Mei had removed her mask and was looking at Kagami with an approving smile, her golden eyes agleam with a pleased light. Her words had been honest, with no hint of mockery or condescension.

“But...” stuttered Kagami. “But... I didn't score on you once! I could barely hold you off!” 

Mei shrugged. “What of it? You've been fencing for, what, six years? Seven? I've been intimately familiar with swords for over twenty-five, using them in situations with far higher stakes than medals or trophies.” 

Kagami said nothing, just gaping at Mei. Finally she took a deep breath, fumbled off her mask and wiped her still-wet eyes with the back of her glove. 

“Who are you?” she asked. “I know every high-ranking member of the international fencing community, either by reputation or personally. But I don't know who you are. I never even imagined someone like you existed. Who are you?” 

“As I said, my name is Mei. And as for you not knowing of me, there's a very good reason for that. I'm not a fencer – I'm a swordswoman.” She offered Kagami a hand and lifted the young woman to her feet. “Go shower and change, then call for Lal Singh. He'll take you to my study. We'll talk there. I have a proposal that may interest you, Kagami Tsurugi.” 

*****

The small study Kagami found herself in was cozy. She sat on a comfortable loveseat, a tray of tea and cookies set on the walnut coffee table before her. These refreshments had be presented to her by a beautiful, matronly older woman, her complexion only slightly lighter than Lal Singh's and her head and shoulders covered by a pastel blue shawl. The woman had smiled warmly at Kagami and, with an elegant bow, told her to call if she needed anything else. Her voice matched that of the singer Kagami heard earlier. 

The study's walls were painted a soothing green, pictures of various landscapes hanged to fill empty space. One wall was lined with bookcases, their shelves filled with volumes written in a variety of languages, ranging from Chinese, Japanese, Indian and Punjabi to French, English, German and Spanish. To Kagami's left was a small desk with a monitor, desktop computer, a jar of pens and a notebook and on her right was a large oak cabinet, ornately carved. What attracted Kagami's attention the most was a small round table set in the far right-hand corner. On it rested a red wooden shrine, in which was set a man's photograph. He was Asian, perhaps Mei's age, and quite handsome. His hair was shaggy, colored brown-black, and his eyes were a fierce gold similar to those of Kagami's hostess. A small by prominent scar marked his cheek just beneath the left eye. His smile was wry, gentle and good-natured. 

The study door opened and Mei walk in. She had changed into a loose purple blouse and an ankle length black skirt, black flats just peeping out from beneath its hem. She had undone her braid, letting her hair drop in a shining midnight fall that almost reached the small of her back. Mei smiled and nodded pleasantly at Kagami before settling back into a plush armchair opposite of the loveseat, crossing her legs and folding her hands in her lap. 

“Are you well, Kagami?” she asked.

Kagami nodded. “Yes, ma'am.” 

Mei laughed softly. “I'm not respectable enough to be called 'ma'am'. As I told you, call me Mei.” 

Kagami hesitated a moment. “Very well, Mei.” Another short pause. “May I ask you a question?” At the older woman's nod she continued. “How do you know my mother?”

Mei hummed softly. “With respect for your mother's privacy I can not give you all the details. Perhaps in the future I will. What I can say is that ten years ago a very close friend of mine,” her eyes darted quickly to the shrine and back, “and I performed a very significant favor for your family. Once completed your mother offered us an extremely large sum of money for our pains and troubles. After some thought, we decided we would rather have the Tsurugi clan owe us a personal debt to be called in later. Your mother allowing me to meet with you begins to pay off that debt.”

“I see,” said Kagami, frowning. She wondered what sort of favor her mother would require from someone like Mei. But before that thought could go very far the older woman cut off her speculations.

“Now I have a question for you.” She paused a moment, bringing steepled forefingers up to her lips. “Do you want to have revenge on Hawkmoth?”

Kagami blinked at this, taken completely off guard. “W-what?” she stuttered. A question like that was absolutely the last thing she had expected. 

Mei leaned forward, her golden eyes glittering. “He abused you. Used you to further his own purposes after coercing your consent with corrupted magic. Took advantage of you when you were in an emotional depth with one of those cursed butterflies of his, and by doing so put your personal reputation beneath a dark cloud. Oh, people say that the victims of akumas are not at fault, but what people say and what they believe, that's something different altogether.” Mei smiled fiercely. “I think I have your measure well-enough to know that you would not pass up an opportunity to get back some of your own from Hawkmoth.” 

“But... how would I be able to do that?” Kagami's eyes widened with a sudden insight. “Do... do you know who Hawkmoth is?” 

Mei smiled and shook her head. “Unfortunately no. If I did, I probably would have taken steps by now to... remove him. Besides being a menace in his own right, he seems to be an amateur playing with Power. Fools like him rarely come to a good end, and they have the nasty habit of inflicting a lot of collateral damage when fate catches up to them. 

“No, I don't know Hawkmoth's identity. What I offer to you, Kagami Tsurugi, are tools with which you can contest with him on an even plane – that is, if you're not afraid of hard work.” 

Kagami said nothing for a minute, brow furrowed with thought. She then gave Mei a small, sharp smile. 

“I did not become what I am by quitting when things got difficult. But before I agree to anything, I want to know what exactly you are offering.” 

Mei answered by rising gracefully and going to the oak cabinet. Her hands danced across its doors, eliciting a soft click, and they silently cracked open. She pulled them wide, reached in and retrieved a rapier. Its hilt was a basket design and the blade was over a meter long, double-edged, wide at the base and tapering to a diamond hard point. Most interesting of all was that the rapier was completely black – blade, guard, hilt and pommel, all forged and wrought from blackened steel. Kagami's eyes widened and she pursed her lips in admiration. She was very familiar with all kinds of swords, and the high-quality of this rapier was obvious to her trained eyes.

“What is this?” Mei asked her. Kagami arched an eyebrow.

“It's a sword,” she deadpanned, not quite able to keep sarcasm out of her voice. “A rapier, if you want me to be exact.”

Mei chuckled softly. “Yes, she's a sword, but yet not merely a sword. She is a sword the way that Excalibur is a sword; that Durandal is a sword; that Grasscutter is a sword. In short, she's a Weapon of Power.” She turned it in her hand, looking at it fondly; suddenly her expression became wistful, her smile melancholy. Mei vented a quiet sigh. 

“Her name is Black Needle,” said Mei. “And this,” she flicked her free hand, and Kagami jumped when a long, bright dagger appeared in it. “Is her sister, Whisper. They are both yours, if you're brave enough to take them.” 

Kagami stared at the blades, not quite certain how to respond to this, wondering if her mother had placed her in the company of a mad woman. “Weapon of Power... do you mean they're magical swords?” 

Mei grinned. “Yes. A person that Black Needle and Whisper have attuned to can do amazing things. Their strength increases five fold. They can cut bullets out of the air. Leap amazing distances. Pierce the hardest substances as if they were jelly.” She held Black Needle up to eye-level, pointing it at Kagami. “In brief, they transform you from something mortal into something super-heroic.” 

Kagami said nothing, simply staring at Mei, her mouth slightly open in disbelief. Mei lowered Black Needle to her side, shaking her head with a musical laugh. 

“You doubt what I say? You live in a city terrorized by a man who can create monsters of the id via the use of magical butterflies and which is guarded by animal-themed teenagers who can create and destroy things with a flick of a wrist, yet you don't think what I tell you is possible?”

“Well...” Kagami said, starting to hedge. Mei cut her off with another laugh. 

“Seeing is believing,” she said, and Kagami let out an undignified yelp as black energy coruscated around the older woman. In a soundless flash she transformed, now clad in a loose-fitting, long-sleeved shirt and form-fitting pants, both black as midnight, trimmed with gold. The collar of the shirt was cut low, revealing a tight, burgundy undergarment, its thickness marking it as some sort of padded armor. Black gloves, almost leather gauntlets, trimmed with gold encased her hands, and instead of flats she now wore knee-high black leather boots with slight heels. A domino mask of unrelieved black covered her face.

Kagami stared at this transformed Mei gape-mouthed, her eyes blown wide in surprise and wonderment. Mei smiled, amused by her shock. 

“In this guise I called myself Dark Elegance,” said Mei. “A pretentious name, perhaps, but then again I'm a rather pretentious woman. And as Dark Elegance I adventured all across the world for over twenty-five years. Unlike Ladybug and Cat Noir, or the various super-heroes in the United States, I tried to keep a low profile. But if you look hard enough you can find a few things about my alter ego. Do you believe me now, Kagami?” The younger woman nodded vigorously. “Good. I'm glad to have that out of the way.” She took a breath and her outfit crumble away in sparks of black energy, re-dressing her in her original blouse and skirt. Mei sat back in the armchair, laying Black Needle and Whisper in her lap. 

Kagami stared at the blades. “Are they... Miraculous?” she asked in wonder. 

Mei shook her head. “No. You will learn, if you accept my tutelage, that the world is filled with many strange and magical things. Black Needle and Whisper lack the world-shaking powers of Creation and Destruction, but they have abilities that compensate for that.”

Kagami looked up at her. “Such as?”

“Loyalty, for one thing.” Mei tossed Whisper on the floor a few feet away. She gestured at it and the dagger flew right to her hand. “One of the Miraculous' weaknesses is that if you remove them from their wielders they lose their power, are reduced back down to a mortal level. If you have Black Needle and Whisper's loyalty, even if you are disarmed you'll retain your strength, speed and durability, and as you just saw they will return to your hand if you will it. The only way to strip you of your power is to knock you unconscious, and I will see to it that that will be a very hard proposition for anyone who challenges you. 

“Another advantage is endurance. When a Miraculous uses its ability, a few minutes later it de-powers, again leaving its wielder defenseless. A Miraculous has an attendant spirit attached to it, which is the source of its magic, and it needs time to recover its energies after using its powers. Black Needle and Whisper have no such limitation. You can wield them for days at a time, if need be.” 

“I see...” said Kagami, rubbing her chin. “May I ask another question?” 

“Of course.” 

“Why me? Why do you want to give these magic swords to me?” 

Mei smiled sadly. “Simply put, because I have to. In order to wield them, you have to meet their demand.”

Kagami's expression became wary. “And that is?” 

“To be used. To be wielded and have their power exercised. They don't care for what cause. Good or evil, selfless or selfish – it's all the same to them. My girls are delightfully amoral.” She sighed and glanced at the shrine. “But in the past few years I've found out I can no longer meet even such a simple requirement. As for why I've chosen you, well, you were one of two people I considered approaching to inherit my blades. But before I could make a final decision, the young man I was watching was taken out of contention in a rather surprising way.”

“How?”

Mei shook her head. “That's not my secret to share.”

“It seems you have a lot of secrets,” Kagami said wryly. Mei laughed in response.

“Oh, dear child, you have no idea.” 

“Huh. So, you chose me by default?” 

“If you want to think of it that way, yes. But in all candor I was leaning towards choosing you when the decision was taken out of my hands.” 

“So I guess that brings us back to my original question: why me?” 

“Because we have something in common. Once I was much like you - an accomplished young woman, daughter of a wealthy family who was denied nothing save the one thing she truly wanted - the freedom to be herself. Praised and petted when she followed expectations, and harshly excoriated for the slightest slip.” Mei smiled wistfully. “I was born in a gilded cage, one I thought I would never free myself from, until I found keys to its lock in the form of swords. They can serve as keys to unlock your cage as well, if you have the will to seize them.” 

Kagami said nothing, merely stared at the blades resting in Mei's lap. The older woman's words had struck home, hard and true. All her life Kagami had felt confined and constricted by the expectations of her mother. To excel at all things. To be invulnerable and impervious. To never fail. To never disobey or disappoint. To be a beautiful, flawless, numb little doll when no thoughts or feelings of her own, and with no ambitions save those that furthered the glory of the House of Tsurugi. She shivered as the epiphany coursed through her and bent over with a gasp, covering her mouth with a hand as she wrestled with this realization. After a few minutes she regained her composure and sat up, embarrassed by this fit of emotion. Mei looked at her serenely, her golden eyes sympathetic and kind.

“So what do you say, Kagami Tsurugi – do you want Black Needle and Whisper?” 

“Yes,” she answered. Never in her life did she want something more.

Mei nodded, looking very pleased. “I knew you wouldn't disappoint me. Tomorrow we'll begin your lessons. There is much you need to learn before I can in good conscious pass my girls on to you.” 

Kagami frowned slightly. “I don't think my mother will be happy with me changing my schedule like that.”

“Don't worry. She will not contest this.” 

Kagami looked doubtfully at Mei, who smiled back with supreme confidence, and again she wondered at what exactly Tomoe owed this mysterious woman. 

“May I ask another question?” 

“Just one more for the day.” 

Kagami thought for a moment. “If Hawkmoth had akumitized you,” she said slowly, “and after you were freed from his control, what would you do in response?” 

Mei's smile was as sharp and as beautiful and as dangerous as the blades on her lap. 

“I would kill him.”


End file.
